INEC is an
acronym for the Independent National Electoral Commission; an electoral body
that was founded and guided by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and saddled with the responsibility of organizing the elections in
Nigeria. These elections range from the regional to the general elections (local,
state and federal levels). The commission also has the responsibility of overseeing
the entire electoral processes, while ensuring that democracy in the country is
rightly developed and established. INEC is guided by their mission and vision
statement and values: a mission to be an independent and effective Election
Management Body that is able to conduct fair, free, and credible elections in
Nigeria. The vision, running parallel to the mission, is to be an effective
Election Management Bodies that fulfills the aspirations of Nigerians.
The overall
head of the electoral body is referred to as the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission. Over the years, there have been
quite a number of INEC Chairmen. The first ever Chairman of the Commission, at
the point of establishment was Ephraim Omorose Ibukun Akpata, who was
appointed in 1998 by the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar administration. Abubakar’s
administration established the current Independent National Electoral
Commission with the intent to organize and prepare Nigeria for elections as
well as the re-introduction of democracy in 1999. The same election that saw
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo become the civilian President of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria after a long period of military rule.
At that time,
Ephraim Akpata dealt with around 26 political organizations and associations.
He also allowed for provisional registration for 9 political parties for 1998/1999
general elections, of which only 3 parties were eventually qualified to compete
and contest in the State and National elections. These 3 parties were a
function of so many coalitions by smaller groups and associations; an example
of such was the People’s Democratic Party, which was a coalition of about 34
different groups.
Ephraim Akpata
was born on the 15th of April 1927, in Edo State. A lawyer by
profession and an academic product of King’s College, Lagos. Akpata as a
Solicitor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rose to the position of the
Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and retired in 1993 at the age of 65.
During his
tenure at the helm of affairs at INEC, He allowed for foreign election
observers and monitors from the Carter Centre in the United States, as well as
the National Democratic Institute to participate in overseeing and evaluating
the electoral process. He was also favorably disposed to their offer to train
thousands of local observers for the sake of the elections. Akpata was also a
strong proponent of National unity, which was evidenced by his decision to blur
the lines of ethnic divides during the build up to the elections in 1999. To
achieve this, he stipulated that only parties with broad based national support
would be allowed to contest the elections. His position was that, political
parties must win local government electoral seats in at least ten states to qualify
for the gubernatorial, state assembly, national assembly and presidential
elections.
Justice Ephraim
Akpata had at least, these two books to his name: Justice for all and by
all, published in 1994 by B & C Publishers and The
Nigerian Arbitration Law in Focus, published in 1997 by the West
African Book Publishers.
Ephraim Akpata
was INEC Chairman between 1998 and 2000. He died on the 8th of
January 2000 at the age of 72.
References:
Robert A. Dibie (2001). The Politics and Policies of Sub-saharan Africa. University Press of America.p.55
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Nigeria Bulletin